| Spider bite | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Arachnidism |
 | |
| Fangs of a black wishbone spider | |
| Specialty | Emergency medicine |
| Symptoms | Widow bite: Pain, sweating, muscle twitching, headache, vomiting[1] Recluse bite: Pain, skin death and breakdown, red blood cell breakdown[1] |
| Causes | Spiders[1] |
| Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms[1] |
| Differential diagnosis | MRSA skin infections, insect bite, IVDU[2] |
| Prevention | Clearing clutter, pesticides[1][3] |
| Treatment | Supportive (NSAIDs, antihistamines)[4] |
| Frequency | Unclear[5] |
| Deaths | Rare[1][6] |
A spider bite is an injury resulting from the bite of a spider.[2] Most spiders do not cause bites that are of importance as there fangs are unable to penetrate the skin.[1][2] Most of the time there is only mild symptoms around the area of the bite.[1] Onset of symptoms may occur 30 minutes to 7 days after the bite.[5] Deaths are rare, with in the United States less than 3 per year.[6][2]
The main exceptions are widow spiders and recluse spiders.[1] Widow bites may result in latrodectism, with pain that is localized or generalized, sweating, muscle twitching, headache, and vomiting.[1] Recluse bites may result in loxoscelism, which begins with mild pain and redness and can progress to skin death and breakdown.[1] Headaches, vomiting, fever, and red blood cell breakdown may occur.[1] Other significant bites include the Australian funnel-web spider and South American wandering spider.[1] Diagnosis is generally based on symptoms and seeing the spider.[1]
Prevention include clearing clutter and the use of pesticides.[1][3] Most bites are managed with supportive care such as NSAIDs for pain and antihistamines and steroid creams for itchiness.[4][2] Opioids may be used if the pain is severe.[4] While an antivenom exists for widow venom, it may result in anaphylaxis and therefore not commonly used in the United States.[4] Antivenom for funnel web spider venom improves outcomes.[1] Surgery may be required to repair the area of injured skin from some recluse bites.[4]
Spider bite reports are common.[6] They; however, may be overdiagnosed or misdiagnosed.[1] In many reports it is unclear if a bite actually occurred.[7] In the Middle Ages, a condition where people danced wildly, known as tarantism, was claimed to be from a spider bite.[8] While necrosis has been claims for a number of spiders, evidence only supports it in recluse bites.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Isbister, GK; Fan, HW (10 December 2011). "Spider bite". Lancet. 378 (9808): 2039–47. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(10)62230-1. PMID 21762981. S2CID 27408940.
- ^ a b c d e "Spider Bites - Injuries; Poisoning". MSD Manual Professional Edition. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Venomous Spiders: Recommendations for Employers & Workers | NIOSH | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Kang, JK; Bhate, C; Schwartz, RA (September 2014). "Spiders in dermatology" (PDF). Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. 33 (3): 123–27. doi:10.12788/j.sder.0107. PMID 25577851. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ^ a b Diaz, JH; Leblanc, KE (15 March 2007). "Common spider bites". American family physician. 75 (6): 869–73. PMID 17390599.
- ^ a b c Braitberg, George (2009). "spider bites: Assessment and management" (PDF). Australian Family Physician. 38 (11): 862–67. PMID 19893831. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ^ Stuber, Marielle; Nentwig, Wolfgang (2016). "How informative are case studies of spider bites in the medical literature?". Toxicon. 114: 40–44. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2016.02.023. PMID 26923161.
- ^ Donaldson, LJ; Cavanagh, J; Rankin, J (July 1997). "The dancing plague: a public health conundrum". Public Health. 111 (4): 201–04. doi:10.1016/s0033-3506(97)00034-6. PMID 9242030.